I'm considering getting an iPad I to use with my Android Thunderbolt's hotspot.

I really liked the iPad but I didn't get to play woth one for more than a week.

Is the lack of Flash really noticeable and a deal breaker? I like having Flash on my phone but I'm not sure how many sites I visit actually need it.

Most sites don't need flash, but there are some, and yes it's a pain to have to put the iPad down and go to a pc to view that site. However, there are alternatives like Puffin browser and Iswifter. It's not better than having native flash support, but it gets the job done.

I'd say the lack of Flash is noticeable, but definitely not a deal breaker. Have both a iPad and a PlayBook at home, I notice the difference when browsing on the two, but iPad more than makes up for it with all the app support that it has.

It bothered my girlfriend at first since she plays a lot of Facebook/zynga games, but after introducing her to bejeweled, angry birds, plants vs zombies, words with friends and the large number of hidden picture games (which look and play far far better than their PC counterparts), her complaints have all but vanished, as has my iPad. I'm gonna have to get her an iPad sooner or later.

I confess that it can be a pain when it happens that you need it. That said, I have been evaluating Android 3 and iPad 2 for work projects and it didn't stop my getting one for personal use. The newspaper readers, a time and billing app drove the purchase more than needing Flash.

I do suggest trying the Android tablets even though I own the Apple because they like my Android phone are superior to Apple's platform in some ways that might be important to you.

Another question: do i need a computer to own an iPad for set ups, updates, backups?

Thanks! I'm looking for a WiFi only tab.

Hi,

Tablet or iPad? I ask because you don't for the Xoom but do for an iPad. Think of iTunes as your mother ship if you're not technical where the Android 3 just needs the battery charged and access to the Internet for Google's cloud.

For me it didn't bother me at first but now it starts to get annoying. There are just days that I would just be visiting flash sites and made my ipad useless. Though lots of website will soon be HTML 5, there is a long way to go...

Is the lack of Flash really noticeable and a deal breaker? I like having Flash on my phone but I'm not sure how many sites I visit actually need it.

You'd probably need to figure out the latter to answer the former for your self. What is and what isn't a deal breaker will always vary from person to person and not just when it comes to the iPad but for anything out there.

If you happen to need flash on the iPad, you can either use any of the above mentioned Apps or Splashtop to connect to your computer and start IE/Safari/FireFox there.
splashtop has a verry nice video on their site demonstrating the streaming from your desktop to your iPad. I use splashtop to watch DVDs (discs) on my iPad (streamed from my desktop), so flash shouldn't be a problem.

Many sights are compatible with the iPad, but there are still enough out there not compatible to annoy the crap out of you. iFannies point to alternatives that are at best reliable with flash 50 percent of the time. In my experience not one Flash alternative browser for the iPad works for every site I want to view flash content, so I currently use three browsers in addition to Safari to make up for the lack of flash compatibility and I still can't view ESPN 3 most days. The short answer is the iPad is great with lots of video, but if you watch enough video content you will surely run into enough road blocks to **** you off.

Yea I agree with the poster above. The lack of Flash is noticeable but I still got the iPad because I really don't go on a lot of sites with flash and I couldn't pass up all the apps. The apps for me make up for it. For example the only flash videos I watch are YouTube and there is the YouTube app. Also, most websites I go on are technology websites which for the most part use YouTube. So that's not a problem. For tv shows, there are apps like the abc player, adult swim, hbo, and crunchy roll. For movies, there is crackle, and Netflix. And for everything else I need (which isn't much) I use skyfire or splashtop. Yes it's far from perfect and not as convenient as native flash but for me it works well since I dont use a lot of flash. But I would say it all depends on your needs and the websites that you go on regularly. if you truly need flash everyday and can't make up for it with apps, then maybe an android tablet is right for you. Just something to think about.